Freeport alumni tell students about their science careers

FREEPORT — Walking through the doors to the College and Career Center at Freeport High School, the first thing you notice is the multitude of college pennants hanging from the ceiling.

By Jane Lethlean

Journal Standard

By Jane Lethlean

Posted Sep. 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 21, 2013 at 8:02 PM

By Jane Lethlean

Posted Sep. 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 21, 2013 at 8:02 PM

FREEPORT — Walking through the doors to the College and Career Center at Freeport High School, the first thing you notice is the multitude of college pennants hanging from the ceiling.

This is a career center that focuses on guiding students to make the best choices.

Jeannette Diddens said the pennants represent the many options students have for higher education. Her job as director of the career center is to offer options to students, guiding them to make the right choices for their future.

On Friday, Diddens hosted a College and Career Science Lunch, complete with pizza as a reward for listening to four panelists speak about how science guided them on a career path.

“Today, we launched the discussion of science and how it can influence career choices,” Diddens said. “This lunch that we offered students, who chose to participate, is about giving them the opportunity for a first-hand listening experience and to meet individuals who loved science enough to make the right career choice.

"The students get to hear from a professional, who has made a career based on the theories of science.”

One Freeport alum who spoke to the students was Candace King, a meteorologist at WTVO in Rockford. King told the students she graduated from Freeport High School in 2000.

Upon graduation, King said she knew a career based on science would guide her to study meteorology at Northern Illinois University.

“When I was in junior high school, I saw the movie ‘Twister,’ and at that time, I thought I wanted to be a storm chaser,” King told the students. “But, it was a class in Earth science that peaked my interest of the study of weather. It is what put me on my own career path. Science is all around us.”

“Math and science is like learning a third language, but a career path in science is understanding that the idea of science is about everything we do,” Vrtol said. “When I was younger, I didn’t love science, but now I do. There are endless possibilities.”

Sophomore Linnea Sieferman spoke with King after her presentation

“I took a lot of notes about how science can affect my daily life. It really made me think," she said. "It’s all very complex.”

Jen Newendyke, director of CareerTEC, who helped sponsor the event, said, “I believe in providing opportunities for students to hear from people on what they do in their own careers. What I hope for from this lunch is the students take an interest in a direction that points them in a positive direction.”